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"World Chalice", known as "Star Chalice" (星（せい）杯（はい）Seihai) in Japanese, is an archetype introduced in Code of the Duelist. The archetype is related to, and is supported by, the "World Legacy" archetype.

Playing style

Being one of the first archetypes to focus on Link Summoning, the "World Chalice" archetype explores the intricacies of the newly-introduced mechanic. To that end, the archetype focuses on initiating multiple Link Summons in quick succession, all while promoting combos that extend the longevity of this style of play, namely through helping the controller amass more monsters in the hand or on the field to use as Link Materials. The archetype also encourages the controller carefully consider the placement of cards on their field, particularly by emphasizing the linking of Link Monsters with other monsters in order to gain boons via their effects.

The archetype's Main Deck Effect Monsters are designed to further this strategy. The first effect of "World Chalice Guardragon" allows the controller to send it from the hand or field to the GY in order to negate the activation of a card that targets a linked monster and destroy it, thus offering protection to the controller from threats to the archetypes' Link Monsters. This also places "Guardragon" in the GY to enable its second effect, banishing it from the GY to Special Summon a Normal Monster from the GY to one of the controller's zones that a Link Monster points to. "Lee the World Chalice Fairy" enables the controller to add a "World Chalice" monster from their Deck to their hand if Normal or Special Summoned, assisting the player in providing monsters to Special Summon with the common effect of the archetype's Link Monsters. "Lee" also allows the controller to recover it from the GY to their hand if they send a monster from their hand or field to the GY. Both monsters have great synergy with each other as a result, given that the latter can place monsters in the GY in the process of recurring itself, which the former can then Special Summon for the controller to continue their combos.

The archetype's Link Monsters all possess a common effect wherein if they are sent to the GY, the controller can Special Summon a "World Chalice" monster from their hand, thus preventing the controller from losing field advantage should the monster be sent to the GY. Additionally, these effects also encourage the controller to use the Link Monsters as Link Materials themselves. This is reinforced by the archetype's Link Monsters all possessing Link Ratings in successive numbers from 1 to 3. As another thread of commonality, they also all possess effects that apply when the monster is linked to other monsters, thus emphasizing a need to consider where the Link Monsters can be best summoned in order to fully benefit from their effects.

The Link 1 "Imduk the World Chalice Dragon" often serves as a combo piece by which the archetype can initiate this tactic of laddering Link Monsters, as it allows the controller to Normal Summon a "World Chalice" monster in addition to the controller's Normal Summon/Set for the turn. "Imduk" also has an effect wherein it can destroy any monster it battles that is linked to it at the start of the Damage Step, though such an effect is only applicable if "Imduk" is in its controller's Extra Monster Zone or a Main Monster Zone in the same column as an Extra Monster Zone, as it only has a singular Top Link Arrow.

The Link 2 "Ib the World Chalice Priestess" cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects should it be linked, and also prevents the opponent from targeting it with card effects while it is linked. "Ib" also protects the monsters linked to it by allowing the controller to send it to the GY should any of of its linked monsters be destroyed by card effects. However, for any of its unique effects to have any applications, it must be located in a Main Monster Zone, as it only has Left and Right Link Arrows.

Also possessing a Link Rating of 2, "Auram the World Chalice Blademaster" gains 300 ATK for each "World Legacy" monster with a different name in the controller's GY. Additionally, "Auram" has an effect by which the controller can Tribute a "World Chalice" monster linked to it in order to Special Summon another one from their GY to one of the zones that "Auram" points to, allowing the controller an easy way to trigger the common effect of the Link Monsters while also granting an easy way for the controller to selectively choose what monsters to utilize next. Due to "Aurum" possessing Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right Link Arrows, however, this effect would only find use if "Auram" was inhabiting its controller's Extra Monster Zone.

The Link 3 "Ningirsu the World Chalice Warrior" enables the controller to draw a card for each "World Chalice" monster that is linked to it upon its Link Summon. Due to the placement of its Link Arrows, namely Top, Left, and Right, this effect is best utilized if "Ningirsu" was Link Summoned to a Main Monster Zone that shares a column with an Extra Monster Zone. "Ningirsu" also has an effect whereby the controller can send one card on each side of the field to the GY, allowing the controller to simultaneously remove a problematic card the opponent controls, while also either triggering the common effect of the archetype's Link Monsters, or placing one of the archetype's Effect Monsters or "World Legacy's Heart" in the GY for later utilization of its effect.

Given that the archetype is related to the "World Legacy" archetype, it also enjoys some support from that archetype's cards. The archetype's associated "World Legacy" monster, "World Legacy - "World Chalice"", can Tribute itself if a monster is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck in order to send that monster to the GY, which gives the controller remarkable flexibility in either choosing to eliminate the opponent's Extra Deck Special Summoned monsters, or to enable the archetype's Link Monsters to trigger their common effects. The first effect of "World Chalice" also allows it to enable its second effect, wherein if it leaves the field after being Normal Summoned or Set, allows the controller to Special Summon 2 other "World Chalice" monsters from their Deck, further bolstering their field presence and providing monsters to fuel more Link Summons. The third and last effect of "World Chalice" lets the controller banish it from the GY on any turn subsequent to it being sent there, in order for the controller to add a "World Legacy" card from their Deck to their hand. Given that the archetype is dependent on the "World Legacy" archetype to support its plays, this effect is instrumental to enabling further combos.

The archetype's associated "World Legacy" Field Spell, "World Legacy Discovery" has an shared effect with other "World Legacy" Field Spells in that it bolsters the ATK and DEF of the associated archetype's monsters by 300. Additionally, "Discovery" has a unique effect wherein the controller can Special Summon a "World Chalice" monster from their GY in Defense Position, should a face-up "World Legacy" monster they control leave their field due to an opponent's card effect or being destroyed by battle, thus preventing the controller from losing field presence through the loss of their monsters.

"World Legacy's Heart" allows the controller to return 2 "World Chalice" monsters from their GY to their hand, to further enable the common effects of the archetype's Link Monsters. The card also has an effect whereby the controller can avert the destruction by battle of a linked Link Monster they control, by banishing the card itself from their GY.

Because the archetype often focuses on Summoning low level Normal Monsters, it benefits greatly from cards that support such plays or aid in the advancing the placement of Normal Monsters in the hand. In particular, the effect of "Enchanting Fitting Room" and "Unexpected Dai" can assist the controller in more quickly Special Summoning Normal Monsters. "Dark Factory of Mass Production" can be used as an alternative to "Heart" by retrieving monsters from the GY to the hand to Summon via the common effects of the archetype's Link Monsters. As the archetype's Normal Monsters have different Types, they can be easily searched through Type specific support, such as "Emergency Teleport" for "Chosen" and "Reinforcement of the Army" for "Beckoned". The controller can also take advantage of the fact that the archetype's Normal Monsters have 0 ATK or DEF to Special Summon them via the effects of "Box of Friends" or "Masked Chameleon", the latter being usable alongside the Summoned monster as a Material for a Synchro or Link Summon.

"Brilliant Fusion" and "Gem-Knight Lazuli" can also be splashed into the Deck quite effectively, as using the former to Fusion Summon "Gem-Knight Seraphinite" with the latter and "Lee" as Fusion Materials allows the controller to use the effect of "Lazuli" to add a Normal Monster from the GY to the hand, while easily searching out "Lee" for later retrieval. While itself usable as a Link Material, the effect of "Seraphinite" also can act as a substitute for "Imduk". "The Agent of Creation - Venus" can also provide the controller with a steady source of the Normal Monster "Mystical Shine Ball" in order to fuel the archetype's Link Summons or provide monsters that work with any Normal Monster-related support the controller chooses to include in the Deck.